Close to Home
by ROSSELLA1
Summary: Foyet is dead and Haley survived. Her and Hotch have worked things out and the two of them and Jack are enjoying being a family again. What happens when his first case back is a double homicide with all evidence pointing towards someone who's deceased?
1. First Day Back

First Day Back 

BY ROSSELLA1

Note: I do not own Criminal Minds or any of its characters.

Hotch scrunched his eyes up as the alarm went off and rolled over, sitting up on the side of the bed. It was six o'clock. Haley stirred next to him, "Mmm… do you have to go to work today?"

" 'fraid so," Hotch said ruefully, smiling down at him. "I need to go back sometime."

"I know." Haley sighed, "It's just…" she trailed off.

Hotch planted a kiss on her forehead and then got up. "I'll call you at lunch time and if there's not a big case maybe we can meet up somewhere." They both knew it was unlikely but Haley just nodded and rolled over, going back to sleep.

Despite his hatred towards the man, Hotch couldn't say that Foyet had never done anything for him even if it was unintentional. The Bureau had given him a full month leave to recover from what had happened. Unlike his previous vacations, he hadn't so much as asked the team what cases they were working on. Every day of it had been spent with Haley and Jack. At first he and Haley had spent some time trying to work things out while Jack was blissfully unaware of the struggles that they had gone through and was just glad to have his father and mother back together. Then the three of them had fallen into the role of the happy family that they had once been. One thing was certain: he'd now take full advantage of every minute of time he could spend with his family. When he had a vacation, he wouldn't take any cases. If he took time off for his birthday, he'd actually take it. He'd make sure to spend every minute of time off he'd saved up over the past years when he could and spend it with his family. He got dressed and with one last lingering glance at Haley, he left making sure to kiss Jack on the way out.

When Hotch got in, everything was slow at the BAU. After a small welcome back party that involved cake (he suspected Garcia was to blame), the team went back to lounging around. Reid was doing "physics magic" for the women and everybody else was doing paperwork. Before he knew it, one o'clock had rolled by and there hadn't been a single case. Maybe he and Haley would actually get to eat lunch together like a normal couple. Jack would be at preschool now and it would be just the two of them. Hotch had just started to reach for his phone to call her when there was a brief knock on his door and then, without waiting for an answer, JJ burst into his office, folders in hand.

"We've got a case, sir." She said in a flurry. Something in her eyes told him that this one wasn't going to be routine.


	2. Déjà vu

Déjà vu

BY ROSSELLA1

Note: I do not own Criminal Minds or any of its characters. Also, I'm not too familiar with the D.C area so if I make any mistakes don't bother correcting me; I'll only make more

Getting up, he asked, "Is everything alright."

She bit her lip as if thinking how to reply then with a quick shake of her head, "I think you need to see this for yourself." He followed her into the conference room where the rest of the team was waiting. They looked up at him as he entered and he wondered if it was just him or did they look… worried. At the very least they didn't look like they usually did when waiting to be briefed and Hotch had to wonder if they knew something that he didn't. He sat down and looked up at JJ expectantly.

Normally she started the moment they were all in the room but this time she seemed hesitant. "Okay," Hotch said a bit impatiently, "What's the case?"

"Well…" she started nervously, "The good thing is it's right here in D.C., we won't have to travel."

He waited a few seconds for her to continue but she seemed to be trying to think of what to say. "And?" he really didn't have time for this. What was the point of calling them all in here if she wasn't going to tell them what the case was about?

She glanced around the room at the team, seemingly looking for help but none of them gave it to her. With a sigh she went over to the laptop and clicked so some pictures popped up on screen. "Martha Davidson and Greg Lambert were found in a wooded area this morning. They'd been dead for a little under twenty-four hours. The police…" she continued on, listing the details of the case but Hotch was too focused on the pictures to hear much. There was one each of the victims. It looked like they'd both been shot once in the head and stabbed multiple times. There were other pictures of the surrounding area but the one that stood out the most was of their car. It was a black SUV with the red sign of providence drawn in blood on the side.

"Why weren't we contacted immediately?" he forced out. His teammates were all looking at him, concerned. He wanted them to think he was okay but this question only caused them to look more worried. Clearly JJ had already answered it and he hadn't heard.

"They didn't make the connection at first. It was only until an officer familiar with the case arrived on the scene and said something that they realized…" she trailed off.

"Hotch," Rossi said, "If you want to sit this one out, get used to being back-"

"I'm fine." He said. "We should go see the crime scene." He got up and headed out of the room, leaving the team to follow in his wake.


	3. Reflections

Reflections

BY ROSSELLA1

Note: I do not own Criminal Minds or any of its characters. 

Usually he would have rode with Rossi but this time he needed time to think. It couldn't be Foyet; that much was certain. Foyet was dead Haley had killed him. The memory of walking in to her standing with a gun over Foyet's body was the only thing that got him through the nightmares where their positions were reversed.

_He had told Jack he needed him to work the case with him and listened to Haley's reassurance that he was gone. Small comfort. There was no guarantee that Foyet wouldn't find him before Hotch got there. He had listened to Haley's goodbyes, barely able to contain his sobs, and promised to hurry, to tell their son how they met, tell him about love. Then Haley had gone silent and all of a sudden there were a grunt and the sound of a gun going off and Hotch couldn't listen anymore. He speeded to the house, knowing that it would already be too late for Haley but maybe not for Jack. He blew through two red lights and was pretty sure he caused at least one accident on the way but he couldn't be sure. All he could think about was getting to Jack in time. His phone rang as he crashed into the driveway and threw the door open to his car. Probably Foyet calling to gloat. He ignored it and rushed through the front door to the house only to be met with a completely unexpected sight._

_There were broken lamps, plates, and furniture everywhere. Clearly there had been a struggle. Foyet was lying in a pool of his own blood on the floor, already dead, and Haley was staring down at him, white-faced, gun held loosely in her hand. When Aaron entered the room, she rushed to him throwing her arms around his neck, sobbing. The two went and got Jack out and when the team got there and Haley had calmed down some she had told them what happened. _

_After her last words to Aaron, she had been overcome with fear of dying and anger at Foyet for threatening her family. She had brought her heel back into his testicles, causing the gun to fire off to the side. The two had struggled for control over the gun and eventually, after stomping repeatedly on his stomach, she had won. The moment she had backed away she pulled the trigger and was lucky enough to hit him in a lethal area. _

_They had gone to the hospital, just to make sure she hadn't been too badly injured in the fight and then had gone back to Aaron's apartment. They were all debriefed and Haley was cleared of all charges. The team had cleaned up the house in secret for them and the three had moved back in. After talking they both realized that they didn't want to risk something like this happening again without them ever being able to work things out. It had taken some counseling, new rules (if Aaron had gotten time off, he _had_ to take it), and time off but eventually they had gotten remarried. They still had problems but they were working them out._

Hotch didn't know what would happen now, with it all being dredged up again. It _had_ to be a copycat, but that didn't make it easier. What was worse was that he would have to tell Haley. If he didn't then it would only be a matter of time before she read about it in the papers or saw it in the news. If he hadn't told her when that happened… well, he hated to think what it would do to their marriage. But how would this affect her? Would she be fine with it or would it bring up so many memories they'd need to go back to therapy? Well, he'd have to think about that later. Now, he pulled up at the crime scene and got out of the car. The rest of the team arrived within the next few minutes. JJ introduced them to the officer in charge while the rest looked at the crime scene.

Thankfully, because they had only been discovered this morning, the bodies were still there. Martha Davidson and Greg Lambert were the perfect looking couple. She was about five four, hour glass figure with muscle tone on her legs, and beach blonde hair with a tan. He was also well built, six two, brown curly hair and also tan. Both had on well worn hiking boots. Clearly they came here often. They both took care of themselves, if the water and the vegetarian lunch found in their lunch bags were any evidence. The only down side was that they were dead.

Despite the similarities between this crime scene and those in which the Reaper was involved, there were several distinct differences. "The posing of the bodies," Dave began, "Martha was killed on her side of the car and then dragged to be with her boyfriend. Sign of remorse?"

"Foyet never did that. He liked to kill or incapacitate the male and then take his time with the girl." Morgan said.

"The unsub probably only read about it in the papers or wants to add his own touch. Any of the books on the topic would tell him enough for him to avoid these mistakes." Reid replied.

"Aaron?" Rossi asked. Hotch was bent over the male's body taking off the shirt.

"Hotch, what's wrong?" Emily asked, coming over beside him as he finally got the shirt off.

At first he couldn't answer, only stare. Finally he managed to get out, "The knife wounds. They're the same as mine."


	4. Suspects

Suspects

BY ROSSELLA1

Note: I do not own Criminal Minds or any of its characters. 

"What do you mean?" Prentiss asked staring at him. "Do you mean they're similar? That-"

"No!" Hotch cut her off, "They're exactly the same!"

"Hotch," Rossi started, "That's-"

"Look."Hotch sighed irritatedly, and getting up and taking off his shirt. "Every single scar is in the exact same place." The team looked and sure enough, the wounds placement matched the exact locations of the scars on Hotch's chest. "The public was told I was attacked. They never learned how."

"So that means-"JJ said, realization dawning.

"Either it's Foyet back from the dead or someone who came in contact with Hotch right after the attack." Morgan finished.

"Call Garcia," Rossi told Morgan, "Tell her to get a list of everybody working at the hospital during the time Hotch was staying there. She can eliminate anybody who was there yesterday."

"Also," Reid spoke up, "Tell her to eliminate any males. I think our unsub's a woman."

"What?" Hotch asked, turning to him. He knew there were cases where a woman was this brutal but they were rare.

"Look at the knife wounds."Reid explained. "There's no blood on the victim's clothes around those areas so we can assume that those were inflicted post-mortem. Most likely the unsub shot them and then stabbed them which means that the unsub couldn't overpower the two of them. Then look at the posing of the bodies. Martha was dragged over from her side of the car so she could be with her boyfriend. Her head's even resting on his chest. That indicates not only remorse but an attempt to provide the victims with comfort in death. Then there's the fact that Greg Lambert was stabbed more times than his girlfriend. A male, unless homosexual, would be more likely to spend the most time with the female. It's unlikely that a male unsub would do all of these things together."

Rossi nodded and Morgan made the call. "Do you remember any female nurses paying more attention to you than others?" Dave asked him.

"No." Hotch shook his head. Back then he had been to overcome with worry for his family and guilt for getting them into this that he hadn't paid much attention to anything else. His stay in the hospital was all a blur.

"You're sure?"

"Yeah," he replied abruptly, "I can't remember anything."

At this point Morgan returned. "Okay, we've got three women. One was fired for throwing a fit and beating a patient about a week ago and the other two are still working there. Garcia's working on getting an address for the one who was fired."

"Reid, JJ," Hotch said turning to the young genius, "Finish up here and tell them it's okay to take away the bodies. Prentiss and Morgan, wait for that address and then head over there. Rossi and I will head to the hospital."


	5. Safe?

Safe?

BY ROSSELLA1

Note: I do not own Criminal Minds or any of its characters. 

The two walked to the SUV and got in (Rossi in the driver's seat- he refused to let Hotch drive) and then drove on in silence. It wasn't until they'd gotten back onto the main road and Rossi made a left that they spoke. "You're going the wrong way." Hotch mentioned.

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are. The hospital's to the right."

"We're not going to the hospital."

"What?" Hotch looked up, confused.

The older man sighed. "Hotch, this is your first day back. You shouldn't be working this case. It's too close and too soon."

"I can handle it, Dave," Aaron snapped. He appreciated the concern but the last thing he needed was his team doubting his ability to compartmentalize.

"I know you _can_, I just don't think you should."

"Well that's not your decision to make."

"You're right. I can't stop you from working this case but I can drive to your house and refuse to move until you get out. Fire me if you want to but at least go home for the rest of the day. Talk this over with Haley and you can work on this tomorrow."

"My briefcase-" Hotch started to say.

"You can get it tomorrow. There's nothing important in there anyway."

They pulled up outside his house and stopped. Hotch knew he wasn't going to win this one. "Okay," he sighed, getting out of the car. "And Dave?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks." The other man just grinned and drove off with a wave.

He entered the house and was greeted by a red blur crashing into him. "Daddy! Your home! Guess what? Mommy got me McDonalds after school!"

"Hey buddy." Hotch said softly, grinning. "That's great, why don't you tell me about your day?"

Jack went on a long speech about what he did at school while Haley entered the room. "Your home early." She said, coming over and kissing him.

"Ewww!" Jack broke off and the two adults laughed.

"Jack," Haley said, "Why don't you go watch Spongebob while Daddy and I talk?" Jack nodded and ran out of the room after giving Hotch one last hug. After he was gone she turned back to Aaron. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah," he smiled at her in what he hoped was a reassuring manner. "It's just a case came up and Dave thought I should take the rest of the day off."

"Really?" she asked. "What was it about?"

Usually she didn't ask about his work and Hotch was thankful for an excuse not to tell her. It was bad enough having to deal with the horrors everyday without bringing them into his home. This time though, he was glad she asked. It meant he wouldn't have to be the one to bring it up. He took a deep breath, "Haley, you know Foyet is dead, right?"

Her grin faded slightly as it always did when they talked about what had passed. "Of course."

"Well, someone's committing murders to make it look like him." Her eyes widened. "It's a copycat of course," he continued quickly, "And we'll catch her but-"

"Her?" she interrupted. "Isn't it more likely to be a guy?"

"The evidence points towards a female. The point is though, we'll catch her. There's nothing to worry about."

"Okay," She said. "But I think-"Just then his phone rang.

He looked at the caller Id. "Morgan." He said, and picked up. He didn't want to have to interrupt this but technically he should still be at work and if something important happened he had to be aware.

"Hotch," Morgan said, "We just got back from interviewing the nurse. When we tried questioning her about Foyet she pulled a knife on Reid and started yelling that she'd kill us all if we didn't get out of her house. We arrested her. Turns out she's a paranoid schizophrenic who's off her meds. So far she has no alibi for the past three days and has newspaper clippings of everything to do with Foyet all over her bedroom. I'd say she's good for this."

"Alright." Hotch said, breathing a sigh of relief, "Thanks. Call me if anything else happens." And they hung up.

"What is it?" Haley asked anxiously.

"They arrested a suspect. So far it looks like she's the unsub." Hotch answered.

"Oh. That's good," She said, and was quiet for a moment seemingly lost in thought. Then suddenly she looked up at him. "So," she smiled again, "What do you think we should do with all this extra time?"

He smiled back, glad she wasn't taking this too hard, "Oh, I can think of a few things." And the two of them went upstairs.


	6. Di Nuovo

Di Nuovo

BY ROSSELLA1

Note: I do not own Criminal Minds or any of its characters. 

Hotch woke up to his phone ringing. He stumbled out of bed and looked for his pants on the floor, finding them just in time to answer the phone before it went to voicemail.

"Hotchner." He said, sleepily going back and sitting on the bed and pulling his clothes on. Haley wasn't there. He vaguely remembered her kissing his forehead and telling him she was going to the stores but he had no idea how long ago that was.

"Hey Hotch." Morgan said into the phone. He sounded disappointed.

"What's up?" Hotch answered, alert.

"Nothing big but the nurse wasn't our unsub. Her parents turned up and said that she'd been staying at their house for a while and can vouch for her whereabouts at the time of the murders. Their neighbors remember seeing her so she's out. The other two both have alibis."

"Okay," Hotch sighed. "Do you need me to come in?"

"No, we've got it man. Just thought you should know."

"Alright. Thanks." He hung up and walked downstairs. Jack was still watching TV so it couldn't have been too long since he'd fallen asleep. He sat down on the couch and the two of them watched the Great Mouse Detective until Haley got home.

"Hey," Hotch said, turning to Jack. There was no reason a five year old had to hear this. "Why don't you go brush your teeth and get ready for bed." After Jack had gone upstairs he looked at Haley.

She gave him a nervous smile, "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah. Well sort of. I've got something-"

"Oooh, wait! I have to bring something upstairs." She went up and then came back down. "So what do you need to tell me?"

"Well, it turns out our suspect has an alibi for the time of the murders so we're back at square one, but-"

"Wait, I thought you said that you guys thought she had to be the guy?" Haley said, her smile fading and replaced with an expression that looked like she was about to cry. Hotch moved to put his arms around her. He hated to see her so worried.

"Well, it looks like we were wrong, but don't worry. We'll catch the person who did this." He said kissing the top of her head.

"I know." She replied shakily. "I think I just need to go lie down. Will you help Jack?"

"Of course." He said. She dashed up the stairs and he could hear her moving around their room. He couldn't understand why she was taking it this hard now. Maybe it had taken sometime for it to set in. He went upstairs to Jack's room and read him Milk and Cookies before showering and going to bed. Haley was already asleep, mascara stains down her cheeks. He just hoped that they'd catch this woman soon. He didn't know if their marriage could survive another case like the Reaper.

The next morning he got up before Haley and went into the office. He hadn't been there for more than a half hour when JJ entered his office. "We've got two more." She said. With a sigh, he got up and followed her out. The team went straight to the crime scene.

This time it was an older couple, and the unsub hadn't bothered to try and hide the bodies. Instead of a more isolated setting like the woods, she'd chosen a public park. Francine and Ted Doubly had been out for a late night stroll and had apparently been surprised by the unsub. The posing of the bodies, the placement of the wounds, the cause of death. All were the same. The only differences were the age of the victims, the place, and the fact that the unsub had taken Ted Doubly's license. They were only able to determine his name by his credit cards.

"Well, this is different." Said Morgan. "She chose a place where anyone could just happen upon the bodies. Gaining confidence?"

"Maybe." Rossi said. "But she also chose an elderly couple who would be less likely to be able to defend themselves. Why? She's already overpowered a young couple. There's no reason for her to think she couldn't do it again."

"Maybe it didn't matter how old the victims were." Reid said.

"Which would indicate that she wanted the bodies found." Prentiss added. "Maybe she wants to get across a message?"

"The news only made it to the third page of today's paper." JJ put in. "We were able to keep the Reaper aspect out of the press. Could be she feels she deserves more attention."

"There's something else." Hotch said. "She took a trophy. That would indicate an increase in confidence. But then look at the wounds. They're in the right places but they seem rushed; like she didn't care as much about them this time. I think she just wanted someone to find them but the only reason I can think of was if she wanted to send a message. If she wanted to send one wouldn't she be more careful to get things right?"

"And then there're the scars." Prentiss put in. "No one that didn't work at the hospital at the time could know about them."

Morgan shook his head, "This case just doesn't make sense." The others had to agree and after finishing up they left.


	7. If We Knew each other's secrets…

If We Knew each other's secrets…

BY ROSSELLA1

Note: I do not own Criminal Minds or any of its characters. 

The next few days turned up nothing. The BAU did background checks on every female who had been in the hospital at the time of Hotch's attack and interviewed those who seemed promising but everyone either had alibis or didn't seem capable of committing murder. And so it was with heavy hearts that they all went home on Saturday night.

Haley, Hotch, and Jack went out to Pizza Mia for dinner, then went home and popped in Muppet's Treasure Island. They were waiting for the previews to finish and the movie to start when Haley said, "Ooo! Honey, would you take the wash out of the dryer and run it upstairs for me? I'll sort it later, I just don't want to forget about it."

"Sure. Be right back."

"Don't miss the movie, Daddy!" Jack shouted after him as he left the room.

"I won't, buddy." He said laughing as he made it into the laundry room. He scooped the clothes out of the dryer and into a basket. He carried it upstairs to his and Haley's room and was about to leave when he decided that he'd make less work for Haley. It wouldn't take too long for him to put them away and it would make her smile to think of him helping out around the house. Anyway, he'd seen Muppet's Treasure Island so many times he could finish Silver's lines. Jack always insisted he sing along with "Professional Pirate". He quickly put his own in his drawers and then turned to do Haley's.

He was almost finished putting her socks away when he felt something crackle under his fingers. Curious, he pushed some underwear aside only to see a paper bag. He glanced over his shoulder. After all, what was the harm? It was just Haley's; he'd probably see whatever was in it sooner or later and it didn't look like it was a surprise. He'd just peek inside. He opened it up and then fell back against the bed, sitting down as he did so. He poured the contents out on the comforter next to him. Inside were a gun, a pocket knife, and Ted Doubly's license. Trying to comprehend what was happening he opened the knife. It hadn't been cleaned yet. His heart beating fast he picked up the license and stared at the face on it. Up until a few days ago the man on it had been a happy member of the community planning on taking his wife and grandchildren to Disney World in a few weeks and now…

"Aaron, what are you doing in there?" Haley's voice came laughing. "The movies started we had to pause it and-"She broke off as she rounded the corner and came into the room. Her face fell as she looked from the gun to Aaron.

"Haley-" he started.

"I had to do it, Aaron!" she said frantically, just above a whisper. "It was for us!"

"Haley, what? I don't understand. Why did you-"

"You would have gone away again!" Her voice rising to a shrill yell. "It was the only way to keep you in D.C with me!"

"But Haley, we could have-"

"NO!" She screamed, "You would have been gone away and never come home!"

"Alright," he said getting up and walking slowly towards her. Clearly she was disturbed. He should have known she wouldn't be okay after killing a man just a month ago. Why hadn't he insisted on her getting more therapy? "We'll work this out. It'll be okay." He reached out to put a hand on her shoulder.

She backed away until she was up against the wall, hands covering her mouth to contain her sobs. "I had to do it." She whispered. "I had to save our family!"

"I know," he said, pulling her into his arms. "We'll be okay. We're going to get you some help."

"Daddy," came a small voice down the hall, and he looked up to see Jack looking at them with a frightened look in his eyes. "What's wrong with Mommy?" This only caused Haley to sob more.

Mustering a smile, he turned to him. "Mommy's fine, Jack. She just stubbed her toe."

"Does she need a band-aid?" Another sob.

"No, buddy. She'll be okay. Go back downstairs and watch the movie." After Jack had left, he pulled out his phone and called 911.


	8. Epilogue

Epilogue

BY ROSSELLA1

Note: I do not own Criminal Minds or any of its characters. 

The 911 operator was at first incredulous to his claims that he was an FBI Agent and that his wife was a serial/spree killer; however she agreed to dispatch a police squad to his house asap. After he had hung up he called Rossi who while taken aback at the news was much easier to convince. The police and his team got there at about the same time. Haley was arrested and Hotch accompanied her to the police station while JJ and Prentiss watched Jack.

In the months that followed Haley was evaluated by a psychiatrist. While it was determined that she was not legally insane she _was_ disturbed. The jury after considering all the facts sentenced her to a mental institution instead of prison where she would get the help she needed and if the doctors there ever ruled her stable enough, she would be eligible for parole.

Jack was told simply that his mother was sick and had to stay in a hospital to get better. It wasn't a lie after all, but a five year old didn't need to know that his mother was a murderer. Hotch made sure to visit Haley along with their son everyday when possible and when he was away on a case to arrange for Jessica to take him. Though things could never return to the way things were they are steadily working what problems they can out and making the best life together that is possible under those circumstances.


End file.
